Moxibustion reduced arthritis-related inflammation and joint tissue damage in rats partly by regulating the programmed cell death protein 1 immune pathway.
Researchers induced rheumatoid arthritis-like disease in rats by injecting an immune-stimulating substance into a hind paw. After disease induction, rats received daily moxibustion at Shenshu and Zusanli acupuncture points for three weeks. The investigators measured immune pathway molecules and inflammatory mediators using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays and tissue staining, then used an adenoviral vector to reduce programmed cell death protein 1 expression and assess whether this altered moxibustion’s effects.
Moxibustion changed molecules associated with the programmed cell death protein 1 and programmed cell death ligand 1 pathway, lowered interferon gamma, and increased anti-inflammatory interleukin 4 and interleukin 10. It also reduced synovial tissue overgrowth, indicating less joint inflammation and damage. Blocking programmed cell death protein 1 weakened these anti-inflammatory and tissue-protective effects, suggesting this immune checkpoint pathway contributes to moxibustion’s action.
